Ironworker Joe Picurro volunteered to help work on "the pile" at Ground Zero that resulted from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Now he is nearing death from the air he breathed there. He is one of thousands suffering similar diseases.

"Cass Sunstein, President Obama’s pick to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, was confirmed handily by the Senate just now by a vote of 57 ayes to 40 nays."

"Members of Congress Thursday demanded a shake up at the agency that regulates the transport of hazardous materials, saying officials for years have quietly waived safety rules because of a cozy relationship with industry."

"The Obama administration is finalizing rules to control industrial greenhouse gas emissions amid growing skepticism about the prospects of Congress passing a comprehensive climate change bill this year."

"Even as Idaho has sold more than 14,000 wolf-hunting permits, the first 10 days of the first legal wolf hunt here in decades have yielded only three reported legal kills."

"Hispanics have a cancer risk from air pollutants as much as five times the rate of others living in the same cities. But it isn’t outdoor air posing the greatest danger; it is something much closer to home: Toilet deodorizers and moth repellents in their bathrooms and closets. Researchers call for a ban on the carcinogenic chemical used in the consumer products."

"Workers at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site have finished excavating a leaky pool built in the 1950s to hold spent fuel from nuclear reactors."

"Hot Springs National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon National Parks and Mt. Hood National Forest will be the first sites commemorated in a new quarter-dollar program announced today by the United States Mint."

"Another member of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity is leaving the coal-and-utility trade group, citing concerns about whether the alliance wants to obstruct legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions."

"With four gray wolves having been killed in Idaho since Sept. 1, a federal judge has cleared the way for legal hunting of the once-endangered predators to proceed."

"Key Senate Democrats insisted that they are making incremental progress on a comprehensive global warming bill as they returned to Capitol Hill yesterday following a monthlong break where health care reform surged to the top of Congress' legislative agenda."

"Michigan regulators dealt a setback Tuesday to proposals for new coal-fired power plants near Rogers City and Bay City, questioning the need for both projects at a time of growing emphasis on cleaner fuels."

The Environmental Working Group has compiled a database on the amount of radiation emitted by 1,268 different brands of cell phones.

"Switching to low-tech drying saves energy but can get residents in hot water with associations, landlords or towns that see clotheslines as eyesores. Now states from Maine to Hawaii are stepping in to override local laws and rules."

Straw, a century-old building material, is making a comeback as an eco-friendly choice for modern home construction.